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LISTEN: Candice Monique – ‘Free Me: The Mixtape’

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Look, I must confess that I’ve been on a bit of an urban music trip, in part due to the rediscovery of my childhood. I’ve been caught in the throes of late 90’s rub, to be exact. I’ve been immersed in the funk of Erykah, the soul of D’Angelo, and the social critique of Lauryn Hill. I know that 90’s nostalgia has reached its peak, but I can’t help but treat myself to the luxuries of the golden age.

But what’s thrown me over the past year is the degree to which the archetypal ‘indie’ music has embraced it. With Grimes and Collarbones brandishing their Mariah fandom without fear, my typical aversion to admitting these rather ‘guilty’ pleasures have largely been made redundant. The Bloc Party/Horrors-toting teen that I once was has retreated back to the bosom of once cringe-worthy titles such as “Oooooohhhh…On the TLC Trip”. And with Destiny’s Child reforming sometime this year, this rediscovery couldn’t have come at a better time.

But alas, in an Australian context, the urban music canon has fared a little less favourably. Nationally, we don’t need to be reminded of the stigma of Australian hip-hop. But in recent months, I’ve definitely felt that there’s been a groundswell in whatever constitutes Australian ‘urban’ music. You just need to look the innovation of Hiatus Kaiyote or Oscar + Martin to name but a few of the successes of late.

Admittedly, I’ve been relatively Melbourne-centric, and here I go again, with Melbourne-via-Adelaide future soul/hip-hop artist, Candice Monique. Originally of Candice Monqiue and the Optics fame, the vocalist moves from traditional soul roots to a mix tape representative of a number of urban influences. Throughout the 14 tracks, you will undoubtedly hear parallels with the likes of Erykah Badu especially on tracks like ‘How to F*ck’, produced by intriguing Melbourne musician, Billy Hoyle.

However, underneath all these lofty comparisons, it’s clear that Monique has got something going on with the spoken word. Her poetic skill is laced throughout these tracks, not just articulated as hip-hop, but pure poetry that could give any budding SLAM poet a run for their money.

So, to all unashamed lovers of urban music, treat yourself and give this a listen. And to all others, stop pretending that you don’t sneak a little Erykah in with your Alt J.

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The Removalists – ‘Better With Age’

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The Removalists is the spawn of Liam Halliwell, a resident of Osbourne St. I use a geotag rather than list his many bands because for guys like Liam, geography is probably a more relevant way of placing him in some musical context. He plays with different folks who hang about Osbourne St and this is his latest personal recording output. We should see some live stuff when he gets together with fellow Melbourne friends to put together a live set. The Removalists have released two EP’s on Bandcamp and Semi-professional will see a limited physical release real soon.

It’s hard to step back from a sound that has saturated my brain for a week or so. After being strangely confused by the artwork on these (Liam did mention he wasn’t pregnant), I reached an even deeper sense of confoundment when I played them back a few times. The Removalists’ crackling phone-sampled/ heavily overdubbed, home recording should sound like this but it’s fair to say I had a sonically muddled head-space after listening to Local News . Semi-Professional sunk in a lot faster and I’m running a track from that EP called ‘Better With Age’.

It has an upbeat pop melody that is undercut by a vocal that is equal parts bleak, critical and desperately honest. It opens “every opinion that I state, contradicts the former one as soon as I hear the words come out of my mouth. You keep repeating and confirming that there’s nothing new under the sun, your self-fulfilling well of wisdom is weathered, cracked and running dry”. It’s the accent in the lyrics, the way they’re not just spat out but bled over and over and the urgency of the tracking is a little suffocating which makes it even more addictive. This is really effective and despite it falling near a slacker sound it comes across more heartfelt. It’s a sound that is Australian and part of what’s happening with these jangle-pop bands but at the same time this crushing despair sung with hope is how this guy distinguishes himself.

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TOUR: High Highs

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Presented by Secret Sounds by arrangement with Artist Voice:

Wednesday, Jan 30 – 
The Toff In Town, Supported by City Calm Down

Thursday, Jan 31 – 
Oxford Art Factory, 
Supported by City Calm Down

Friday, Feb 1 – 
Laneway Festival, Brisbane

Saturday, Feb 2 – 
Laneway Festival, Sydney

Sunday, Feb 3 – 
Laneway Festival, Melbourne

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MAP January 2013

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35 dayum reasons to wet yourself over neo-psychadelia from Romania, Finnish grooves or maybe our own D.D Dumbo… who kind of sums up the sound of THE WORLD in our minds right now anyway. Enjoy the first round of MAP for the year.

Click the play button icon to listen to individual songs, right-click on the song title to download an mp3, or grab a zip file of the full 35-track compilation through Ge.tt here.

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ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
El Festival De Los Viajes – Los Altos
El Festival De Los Viajes is a psychedelic rock band with a sound that has an epic atmosphere and lyrics that play with your imagination. Los Altos is our favorite track from La Reserva De Los Lieros, their third album.

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AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
D.D Dumbo – Tropical Oceans
Oliver Hugh Perry is D.D Dumbo. Perry makes music from his house in Castlemaine, a small rural town 120km from Melbourne. Tropical Oceans is a perfect cue to his unique brand of technicolour lo-fi that spans genres, blues hooks, African folk – and a sound that no one else from anywhere is really making at the moment. Sometimes the best releases never receive as much credit as they deserve, and this is one of them. If music is supposed to make you feel goddamn otherworldly, 2013 is going to be a good year for D.D Dumbo.

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AUSTRIA: Walzerkönig
Nowhere Train – Ashes
Nowhere Train is a project of seven folk musicians from different bands. After a train tour through the country and a documentary about it, the supergroup’s first album, aptly named Station, recently saw the light of day. It was featured on national television and Austria’s most popular website. Ashes, a song about a perfect moment, was written on tour by globetrotter Ian Fisher (Missouri/Berlin).

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BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Tulipa Ruiz – Cada Voz
Tulipa Ruiz is one of the major new Brazilian singers and is acclaimed by critics and the public alike. Cada Voz is the track that closes second album Tudo Tanto, available for free download on her website, and has its instrumental performed by the experimental band São Paulo Underground.

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CANADA: Quick Before It Melts
Daniel Romano – Middle Child
Get out yer hankies, ‘cuz this one’s gonna make you ball like a baby. Daniel Romano’s transformation into the reincarnated George Jones is now complete, right down to the leisure suit he wears on the cover of Come Cry With Me, his third solo album in as many years. The former Attack In Black frontman has become an impeccable storyteller, and this tale of an estranged son trying to make sense of the senseless will break your heart by the time he gets to the first chorus.

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CHILE: Super 45
Motivado – Ferrer
For lack of a better label, the music of Motivado (Mario Martínez) could be classified as ‘space Latin house’. After the praise he got for Bobby Fischer, his debut EP, Motivado delivered his second EP, Stasi, just as the past year ended and it exceeds what he accomplished on his first work. Yes, this is experimental music, but extremely danceable. Ferrer is one of three tracks on Stasi EP, a free download from the Discos Pegaos netlabel.

CHINA: Wooozy
Summer Fades Away – Thank You
Summer Fades Away is an instrumental/post-rock band from Changsha. They released their second album We Meet The Last Time, Then Departure through 1724 Records last November, which features more classical elements. Though the band announced they were going on hiatus, fans still hope they could be back soon to make more beautiful music.

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DENMARK: All Scandinavian
North Fall – Curve
Originally a one-man project by singer-songwriter and guitarist Anders Belling, North Fall turned into a full indie-rock ‘n’ alt-folk band in 2011 and released their first EP late last year, from which Curve is taken. The whole, excellent thing is yours to download on SoundCloud along with seven tracks from Belling’s time as a lone rider.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Casetera
Dkano – El Bolo Bolo
Rapper Dkano mocks the rise and fall of a fictitious dembow artist nicknamed Bolo Bolo, in reference to so many one-hit-wonders that this local genre produces, as opposed to true hip-hop. El Bolo Bolo is taken from Dkano’s upcoming album Señales.

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ECUADOR: Plan Arteria
Fabrikante – Chanteoma
Making songs only with the voice is a risk that can produce impressive results. Francisco Valdivieso, better known as Fabrikante, is an artist who uses the flexibility of his voice to create unique compositions based on a powerful beatbox and original vocal loops. Chanteoma is the first single from his debut album, which will be out early this year.

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ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Public Service Broadcasting – If War Should Come
Public Service Broadcasting is the operations name of one J Willgoose Esq and his cohort Wrigglesworth. Imagine the Pet Shop Boys if they were obsessed with the war. They’re an electronic duo from London who use samples from old public information films, archive footage and propaganda material from WW2 and ally them to a variety of beats and backing from krautrock to drum ‘n’ bass. If War Should Come, from The War Room EP, is typical of their approach, with its found voices and sense of looming menace as the broadcaster warns of impending battle.

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EXPAT: High Highs

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There aren’t any specific inroads to make waves overseas if you’re an Australian artist, but moving to the US, Berlin, or some subcultural hub in Europe with good pastrami and a nice local is probably a good place to start. While Gotye is probably carving out a spot for his potential Grammy and Tame Impala have sold out enough shows in the US to afford proper shoes now, there’s still a ton of our Aus dudes making us proud over yonder. It’s hard to keep track on all our exports. It’s only when these bands make their prodigal return to the internet with a new collaboration, or bathrobe photos with German groupies that reiterates what we’ve been missing out on all along.

High Highs are Jack Milas and Oli Chang – an Aussie duo who’ve been based in Brooklyn for the last few years. It’s all hydrogen harmonies and blissful acoustica from these guys who’ve toured Stateside, had some nice words in P4K and sat down for lunch with Elton at Christmas. They’re returning back here in Feburary for Laneway, so probably best to get reacquainted.

We’ll be ransacking photo piles of Aussie artists overseas over the next few months, so if you’re an Aus act living overseas keen on sharing photos of good vibes, tour pizzas or your general nomad lifestyle, mail us – editors@whothehell.net.

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